XP Metal Detectors Featured Me On Their Blog

XP Metal Detectors was kind enough to publish one of my articles on their blog. Click here to read it. It should be featured at the top for a little while at least. :-)

If you are wondering why I haven't posted much on this site lately, don't worry more blogs are coming real soon. It was a very busy summer but I have a lot to talk about so keep checking back or become a follower and you'll get notified when I do post another entry. 

Thank you for your support

-MM314

MentalMetal314 is OPEN For Buisness!

If you haven't noticed, you can now buy MentalMetal314 shirts and other stuff right here. I've been thinking about opening up one of these shops for awhile and the opportunity presented itself and I couldn't pass it up. The logo makes for a great shirt and I wanted one for myself so now I can buy them and so can you too! Check out my MentalMetal314 Shop.

Why open up a shop?

Several folks who follow my channel on YouTube have been asking if/when I was going get my own shirts made. I had no idea how to make that happen and when I checked into how much it was going to cost me on some other sites it got pretty expensive pretty fast. Then this opportunity with SpreadShirt presented itself and my out of pocket cost expense was only the time I spent setting it up.

How is the quality of the shirts?

I purchased one and have more on the way. I've been wearing the one in the picture for a few weeks detecting in the water, land, rain, sweating in it, etc. I've run it through the washer/dryer numerous times and so far so good. I have no complaints. The quality is very good.

Mental Supporting his new shirt from SpreadShirt.

Keep watching for a chance to get something free!

In the next couple of weeks I plan on hitting 5000 subscribers on YouTube. If that happens I am going to celebrate that amazing accomplishment by offering 1 or 2 people (I haven't decided yet) to pick 1 item from the shop and I will send it to them for free. You will need to be a subscriber to my channel though so if you haven't been to my channel please check it out. I'll post a video of how to participate in the contest.

 

If you don't see it in the shop let me know.

I have the ability to add all kinds of shirts (all sizes) and other items to include:

• tanks
• sweatshirts
• long sleeve
• phone cases
• and more!

So if you want something I don't have, let me know and I'll see if I can get it. If there is a different color you want let me know.

My 3 Month Review of The XP Deus

Its been awhile since my last post and that's because I've been out digging up every nail in Maryland. Well that's how I feel anyway. Time really got away from me. Its been 3 months since my big purchase of the XP Deus so I thought I would give you my thoughts on the machine and how I've been doing with it so far. But first, why did I chose the XP over something else?

1854 Large Cent Found this year with the Deus

My 5 Big Reasons For Purchasing the XP Deus  

I did a lot of research on this machine and one personal experience pushed me over the fence. If Ted from Ohio is reading this. He knows why. He smoked me one day last fall in an iron infested field. He pulled out 3 awesome coins right next to the holes I was digging. I just couldn't hear them like he was and I was sold on the XP.

 Scale 1-10 (10 being the best)

1. Lightweight: I gave it a 10. I wanted something a little more compact and lightweight to swing and hike around with and this doesn't disappoint. I can go all day and never get fatigued. Plus it fits nicely in a backpack to take anywhere. 
2. Discrimination (disc): I gave it a 10. This machine has a lot of really nice configuration options that lets you fine-tune what you are hearing. You have your normal disc that most machines have but you also have "notch" which blocks signals to your ears (not the machine) which is important because it doesn't degrade the performance of the machine. Overall, the disc features are perfect for my type of detecting (home-sites and farm fields)
3. Saving Your Own Programs: I gave this a 10 as well. This machine lets you save several programs on top of the basic programs the XP comes with. This was exactly what I was looking for. I like to tweak settings based on my conditions and I like to save those settings in different programs to use later at other sites and do minor adjustments. This feature saves me a lot of time. 
4. Wireless: I was a little skeptical in this area because I never used a wireless machine. I gave this feature a 10. Once you go wireless you'll never want to go back. TRUST ME! That's all I need to say.
5. Easy to use out of the Box: I gave this a 9 but with a caveat. To get the full power of the machine you will need to tweak the settings and I'll go into more detail below but I found the programs by default are very stable and great for beginners. But if you really want more out of the machine you'll need to leave the nest. The XP has some great features that MUST be explored.  

Found with the XP Deus in June 2016

Others Features That Set The XP Deus Apart From Other Machines

1. Sensitivity: This machine runs hot and I mean really sensitive. The higher you crank the sensitivity settings, the more noise/chatter you'll get. But if you can stand the chatter, try staying above 90 but it will really depend on your conditions. I staying around 93-95 most days.
2. Frequency Control: I absolutely love this feature. You can change between 4, 8, 12, 18kHz. This really helps when you run into electromagnetic interference (EMI) or want some more depth. The lower freqs tend to give you some more depth. I've been using 8 and 12kHz mostly at the sites I have permission to detect and I haven't run into any issues other than an electric fence that will drive anyone crazy no matter what machine you have. 
3. Reactivity and Silencer Settings: These 2 features are by far the 2 most important settings besides the on/off button. You can screw yourself totally by messing with these or you can really find the magic of the machine. Expect the screw yourself at first until you start figuring out the machine. I did and I got really frustrated in the first month. Then I went back to the basic programs, did some more research, watched some more videos, and started making small adjustments based off the default programs and things have been a lot better. Right now my settings have kept me at a Silencer of -1 and Reactivity at 2 or 3. I'm pulling up coins with nails and brash shell casings in the same holes (no lie). This is the true power of the Deus. The ability to pluck good targets that are masked by junk targets that everyone else misses. The speed and separation of the Deus is simply amazing to put it lightly. 
4. Depth: This is a tricky subject because some folks with tell you the the deeper the better. I've been really thinking about this and used to think this way. I wanted a machine that could find me targets 2 to 3 feet under ground. However, I would challenge any of you to dig a few of those holes and come back and tell me you still feel the same. The XP is comparable to most of the heavy hitters out there in depth. When you tweak the settings you can gain more out of the depth. But if you think you'll be digging to China for targets, think again. It will find deep iron for sure down to 10-12 inches for me so far but I think it will go down a little deeper depending on the target. 
5. Discrimination (disc): I don't like to use a lot of disc if I don't have to. If  you start messing with disc it will degrade the performance of the machine and you'll lose some depth. The Deus also has a feature that lets you block the signals to your ears and not the machine and this feature is called "notch" discrimination. I love this feature and you will too! At first, I tried not to use any disc but now I'm using "notch" a little more and its really starting to help me weed out the junk signals. 
6. Tone Control: This is another feature of the Deus that really comes in handy. By default, I don't like the different tones that come straight out of the box. They are too flat and boring but that's my opinion. You can take control of the tones and set them anyway you like (up to 5). For awhile I was using "full tones" because I wanted to hear everything. I have since gone back to using 3 or 5 tones as my preference. Full tones was just way to chatty for me. Maybe I'll go back to it at some point.     

XP Deus finds from a Maryland Farm in June 2016

So Far So Good...I Like The XP Deus!

Like I said, its only been 3 months but so far so good. I was getting frustrated for awhile because I was digging every nail in the ground I came across. But I've figured out how to listen for them and I've cut the number of nails way down. In addition, I'm pulling out coins from the same holes that have nails in them so I'm definitely progressing. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a silver coin and its a little frustrating (you'll see this in my videos) but I think that's only because I've been going over previously hunted ground that I've hammered for over 2 years with my AT Pro. I have managed to pull up a large cent and a few buttons the AT Pro missed. I've recently been hunting a new site that is very trashy and the Deus is pulling out coins but just not silver yet. I'm going to give the X and Y feature a try which I haven't talked about yet. But this is a feature that is supposed to provide more information on the targets you are hearing so I'm looking forward to seeing what it will tell me at this new site.

and...just for the record, no one from XP is paying me for this review. This is strictly my own opinion based on my own observations and trials. I just wanted to throw that out there before someone jumps on me for being bias or something. I still own and use my Garrett too! 

I hope this post was helpful. Feel free to drop me comment here or PM if you like. My email is mentalmetal314@gmail.com.

Wow! The XP Deus Found Something My AT Pro Missed Over The Last 2 Years!

Liberty Large Cent 1854

It was really nice this past Sunday 2/28/16 and I wanted to take out the XP Deus for its 2nd test drive. I spent the night before skimming through Andy Sabisch's book "The Deus Handbook" and jotted down some programs I wanted to try for a local farm field just a couple miles from my house. On this particular farm, I have found colonial buttons, Liberty Cents, King George coins, musket balls etc. The place has seen a lot of activity over the years so it was a great place to give the XP Deus another drive around the block.

Join Our New Group on Facebook!

Join Metal Detecting Maryland

We started a new group on Facebook called Metal Detecting Maryland. Come join us as we get ready to start digging this season. Share your finds, videos, tips, trick, and more. Maybe a few contests too. You don't have to be from Maryland to join! Its a fun and friendly group who love the hobby.

Handheld GPS for Metal Detecting? What Say You?

I'm debating with myself whether I need a handheld GPS for metal detecting. I think I do but there are SOOOOO many to choose from so I'm wondering what you folks have been using or prefer. I've been eyeballing the Garmin GPSMAP 62. I don't want to break the bank but I do want the ability to mark the spots where I find good targets on both land and water. If I'm kayaking down a river, I want to be able to find that spot again and I also want to mark areas in a field that might indicate where an old building or foot path could have been. Finally, I want to be able upload the data into something like Google Maps and compare the information with old maps to determine if something once existed in that spot. Its all pretty logical in my opinion. I know some of you folks use them so let me know what you think. Here is a pic of the Garmin GPSMAP 62.

Which One? Minelab E-TRAC, Garrett AT Gold, or The XP Deus?

If you know me and followed some of my adventures from my YouTube channel, you know I am a big fan of the Garrett AT Pro. I've been using it now for a couple of years with no complaints. Well maybe a few complaints in the wet sand but for the most part the AT Pro has been rock solid and I would still recommend it to anyone for both land and "fresh"water use. I even considered the AT Gold at one point as well but I couldn't see myself buying something very similar to the AT Pro again.

However, I've been looking for a new machine to try and the Minelab E-TRAC caught my attention earlier last year. I've read a lot good reviews about and talked to some folks who love the machine so my mind was almost made up. Almost!

Minelab's E-TRAC

Then during a hunt in upstate PA this past fall (2015), I got my butt kicked by a completely different machine that totally blew me away. The area we were hunting had a lot of iron in the ground and the AT Pro had no issues telling me there was iron in the ground! In fact, it was ridiculously hot with iron to the point it gave me a headache. On the other hand, my newly introduced friend from Ohio (Ted) brought his XP Deus with him and I watched him as he dug 3 coins that day from areas I had already hunted and hunted HARD! with the AT Pro. At the end of the day, he ended up digging a V nickel right next to a hole that I had dug earlier that day but all I got was iron scrap. There was just so much iron that I couldn't hear what he was hearing. The Deus was able to cut through the iron signals enough to hear that high pitch that we all love to hear but with amazing separation.

On the positive side, I did walk away with a bunch of really nice axe heads and so did Ted but he also found a large cent, V nickel, and an Indian head penny while his friend Lonnie (also using the AT Pro) and myself didn't find any coins. (If you want to see the video of our hunt here is the link). 

XP Deus

Santa, Garretts's Ace 150, and One Happy Treasure Hunter

I had to share this story because I was given the exclusive opportunity to help Santa Claus come up with a special gift for a little girl this past Christmas.

Santa informed that a little girl named Mags had to leave her friends behind because her Dad, a U.S. Marine, recently got orders to Virgina and her family had to relocate all the way across the country from California. The move was apparently hard on the kids for obvious reasons. As a 9 year Air Force veteran, I know. Moves like that are always hard on the kids. But they all got through it and they are now settled into their new home on the east coast. 

Since the move, Mags had been expressing to her parents about her desire to become a treasure hunter. Of course, her desire reached Santa somehow and with so many metal detectors to choose from these days, Santa decided to reach out for help and contacted me! (MentalMetal314) Apparently, Santa was a big fan my YouTube Channel and informed me that his elves would be contacting me via text message for some ideas of what kind of metal detector I could recommend for Mags.

A couple of days later, Santa was right. I received a strange text message from a number I did not recognize 66-784-7053 asking me for my recommendations for a good metal detector. This had to be the elves I thought! Of course, I told them that you can't go wrong with a Garrett! So I recommended the Ace 150. They thanked me and that was last I heard from them.  

A few weeks later, Christmas day arrived and apparently Mags woke up to a brand new Garrett Ace 150. Luckily, the recent warm weather provided Mags the opportunity to try out her new Ace and I can happily report that she recently found her first nickel!

Here she is with her first nickel in hand. Nice job Mags!

Mags with her first nickel!

 According to her Mom, "Mags is psyched!" and you can find Mags and her brother Finn wandering the miles and miles of trails close to their home looking for treasure in Virgina.

A big thanks to her dad Rob for serving our country! But most of all, thank you Santa for making one little girl a very happy treasure hunter in 2016!

-mm314

Did You Ever Hear of a Flying Eagle Cent?

If you haven't they are pretty rare. They were only made between 1856-1858 and if you come across one from 1856 you just might find yourself a little richer. A little like $7000 richer if you find one that is considered G-4 Good = All details worn but readable according to my 2014 copy of the "Red BooK" which is really titled "A Guide Book of United States Coins."

I was lucky enough to find one of these coins a few weeks ago but sadly, it wasn't minted in 1856. Instead, it was minted in 1858 which is worth about $28. Still, its an old coin that many folks will never get lucky enough to find. I was lucky and its as simple as that. If you want to see me pull it out of the ground click the image below and it will take you over to my YouTube channel and you can watch the video. I'll also put a link via Amazon on the side in case you are interested in picking up the "Red Book". I have both the 2014 and 2015 versions and there isn't much difference. I like the book because it gives you the history behind the coin and approximate values. But its also handy for identifying coins that are hard to identify. I can't tell you how many times I've used this book to identify coins with very little detail. Plus, you you get to learn something about the coin. Its a win win situation. You can pick it up at most book stores for about $12-15 but you can probably find a used version cheaper on Amazon. I'll put links to both years of the book so you can see what they are going for.

 

Anyway, I hope you have a safe and happy new year.

-mm314

What Do You Know About Indian Arrowheads?

Stepping away from metal detecting for a brief moment but have you ever come across an Indian arrowhead? If so, where and how did you find them. Leave me a comment or drop me an email mentalmetal314@gmail.com. I personally haven't found any but I've been told to pay close attention in farm fields where the water has washed away the soil especially in places near a stream. In fact, many folks who find arrowheads find them in streams and rivers. My friend who owns a 300 acre farm here in Carroll County Maryland, sent me this picture the other day.

He sends me a txt message and asks me if I know anything about arrow heads because he had just found the arrowhead (picture above) in his garden.

I was honest and said that I didn't know too much about them but I did a little research and I also shot a tweet to my friend Jon @Ancient_life on Twitter who finds these things all the time in Illinois (follow him and see what he finds). He said it looked like a rossville or guilford and probably dated around woodland period 1,000 to 2000 b.p. (before the present) or earlier.

None of that made any sense to me but I found this article "How To Date Indian Arrowheads" by Dell Markey that goes into the some of the history and how arrowheads are dated but there are a ton of other resources out there. There are many sites that sell arrow heads but also have a good history section you can read. I really liked this website "Western Artifacts" This site really goes into detail and lists several books to pick up. There are 2 specific books that I'll reference that are supposedly really good. I have not personally read them but I'll list them somewhere on the right hand side of this blog post if you want to check them out on Amazon.

Anyway, my quest continues but maybe 2016 will be the year I find one. Hopefully some of this information will help you in some way too.


Happy New Year!
-mm314

Really Good How-To Videos Related to Relic and Coin Cleaning Techniques

For awhile now I've been searching around looking for ways to clean iron and coins that I've dug up over the summer. There are so many videos to watch but I thought I would save you some time and jot down a couple that I thought were very good and informative. If you are new to metal detecting, you'll want to watch a few of these. Trust me! They may even save you from ruining a good coin.

"Preserving Iron Relics": by Beau Ouimette

My First Magazine Article Published!

Once a detectorist, still a detectorist but now I'm also a new author! I have a 3 page article published in the latest edition of American Digger Magazine titled "You Have To Give To Receive" It starts on page 42. I have several videos based on that article from my YouTube channel. Its $4 for digital download of the magazine. That's another first for me!

 

www.americandigger.com

MentalMetal314.com Now an Amazon Affiliate!

www.mentalmetal314.com is now proud to be an Amazon Associate. Basically what that means is that I've been given the privilege to provide a portal/link into Amazon as well as provide links to the equipment I use that you can usually find cheaper on Amazon. So if you ever want to make a purchase from Amazon for anything (not just metal detecting gear) I have a link on the right hand side of the my blog that will take you into Amazon. The small fee I get from it will help keep fresh batteries in my detector for more metal detecting adventures/videos in the that I can bring to all of you in the future!

200+ Years Ago Something Was Lost In The River And I found It!

Its true! I found something older than our the United States of America. In fact, the Revolutionary War hadn't started yet. This coin was probably lost by a British soldier crossing the river one day and decided to take a dip in the water. Maybe that is a stretch. But from my old maps, an old ford crossing existed way back in the 1800s so I did a little recon on the area, brought my Garrett AT Pro, and starting fanning the bottom for relics. It was a perfect HOT summer day. But truth be told, I just got lucky. I probably dug 10lbs of fishing weights to find this gem of a coin. Was it worth it? Heck yeah! and I would do it again and probably will soon! If you want to see the other goodies you can head on over to my YouTube Channel and see the video.

1769 King George III (Irish)Half Penny (front)

Are you thinking about taking your Garrett AT Pro in the river or stream?

Then save yourself some time and read what I'm about to share with you. I'm going to share with you everything I know and learned over the last couple years about taking your Garrett AT Pro into fresh water. New update to this post 9/6/15. I made a video that compliments this post. You can watch it by clicking the link https://youtu.be/Dd4bi7lWsSY or clicking the image below.

Whats Under Your Ground?

What do you think rests under your own ground? Relics? Coins? Gold? Treasure? You might be surprised. If you live in the Maryland/Pennsylvania region and you want to know, we might be able to help. Greg and I have been detecting all over Maryland and Pennsylvania for the last couple of years. We typically look for historic sites to detect but if you have private property and are willing to let us have access to it we'll do a quick history check of the area and let you know if it looks promising. If it does, we'll work out a day and time to access the property and see what we can find. We do all of this for free. If you are interested you can contact me via email mentalmetal@gmail.com 

Scott (mentalmetal314) and Greg in Northern PA 2015

Thinking About Taking Your Garrett AT Pro to The Beach? Here is The Information You Need to Know

How many websites have you visited or YouTube videos that you watched hoping to pick up as much information about using your Garrett AT Pro at the beach? Never fear my friends I have the information you have been looking for. Well at least for Hilton Head and Myrtle Beachs here on the east coast and I suspect this information will serve you well at most beaches with white sand.

 Click Here to watch the video

Drilling Out a Civil War Shell - The Steve Phillips Way

I haven't had the pleasure of meeting this guy but maybe one day I will. He certainly knows what he is doing. I've been very curious as to how someone would drill out an old Civil War shell and here it is. This is a video will also give you some tips on the preservation process. This is a 2 part video so make sure you see them both. However, DONT TRY DRILLING ONE AT HOME! He does it from a distance and controls everything remotely.

Whats All The Buzz About?

Last week I posted a new intro video on my YouTube channel. It seems to be kicking some serious ass in 1 week (viewed over 8k times). Check it out here. Maybe I finally got things right LOL. If you haven't seen the channel what are you waiting for? Go there now and subscribe so you don't miss any of our adventures. Click here to head over to my channel and THANK YOU!

How To Figure Out The Date of Old Bottles

How the heck do you date old bottles? I didn't have a clue and I'm still reading through the information but the information is out there and its pretty good.

Broken bottles I found under an old foundation from the 1800s

Recently, I stumbled into the "Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website" and I thought I would pass it along. I'm not a bottle guy and when I say that I basically mean, I don't actually go hunting for old bottles. However, I do keep my eye out for them when I am out metal detecting. You never know when you might stumble into something good.

On of my recent metal detecting adventures, I crawled under an old foundation of a summer kitchen dating back to the early-mid 1800s. Here is the link to the video if you want to check it out.

 Click here for the link to the video

I was really mystified by the way they built stone foundations back in those days but I did uncover some broken bottles which made me try to find some way of figuring out the date. But while I was under there I took a look around and picked up a few artifacts to include a few broken bottles.

Garrett AT Pro hard at work in the hole

I have no idea how old they are but they look old. Like I said earlier, I'm not a bottle guy and I have no idea where to even begin but this website will get you started and if you have any other sites feel free to pass them long in the comments section or you can always drop me an email at mentalmetal314@gmail.com.

Stone foundation still holds up the structure

Old Vicks bottle from the 1930s